April 4 I Thursday

Ruth 1-4

Luke 8:1-25

“And [the devil] said to Him, ‘I will give You all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If You worship me, it will all be Yours.’”   —Luke 4:6-7

In the next temptation, Satan led Jesus to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. He then invited Jesus to take a position of authority over every nation on earth if He would only worship him. Satan’s tempting was in the lust of the eyes, which is greed, wanting what is not ours. There was nothing wrong with Jesus having authority over the world, but all in good time. The timing was wrong because His Father had not yet given that authority to Him.

God was testing Jesus in His attitude towards responsibility, while the devil was tempting Him with a fast track to leadership and prominence. We talk a lot about leadership, and rightly so, but our role is never to lead. It is to serve, and God is the one who makes leaders out of servants. Jesus answered Satan, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’” (Luke 4:8). Serving is one of the highest callings we have because it brings us closest to godliness. If we want to know who our future leaders will be, look to those who do the menial tasks, who commit to the grind—the long hours, short nights and the discipline of tedious, difficult work. This is where God builds His leaders from.

Scripture tells us Jesus had to learn obedience by the things He suffered, and in this testing, He remained obedient to His Father. He did not have an opinion of His own, nor did He haggle with Satan. Jesus simply quoted Scripture. God has spoken, and the issue is settled. All in good time, the day came when Jesus told His disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). The operative word here is “given.” Jesus did not reach for it, bargain for it or take it from anyone. It was given to Him by His Father.

If position and responsibility are not given by God—if we maneuver our way into it instead—we will not be secure because there will always be someone a little cleverer or a little more persuasive looking for the fast track who will maneuver us out of it. But when we are on God’s agenda, trusting Him to put us in the right place at the right time, we can be assured we are there for His purpose. God does move us on, but when placed in a position by Him, regardless of what forces let loose against us, we will be secure for as long as God wants us there.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know You have an agenda for me. Help me to be more secure in You, Your timing and the playing out of events in my life. Thank You, Lord.